


The Reason Why Cats Are Unlucky

by cyanspade



Category: Scandal in the Spotlight, Voltage Inc - Fandom, Voltage Inc. - All Media Types
Genre: Cohabitation, Comfort, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:23:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9195986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyanspade/pseuds/cyanspade
Summary: Kota has a certain someone for a temporary roommate, but he can’t tell if it’s a good thing or not.





	

* * *

I.

               Cats were supposed to be lucky, but for some reason, Kota’s luck was ironically awful. 

               Apparently, there was a leak in her bedroom ceiling, and according to the repairman, the leak wasn’t going to be fixed until next month. That left her with three options—the first was to remain in her bedroom and endure water dripping on her face every night, the second was to sleep on the couch, and the third was to bunk in with someone else for a month.

               Everyone agreed that the first option was a definite _hell no._

              (Revance may have forced her to be their ghostwriter, but they wouldn’t go so far as to make her deal with a leaky ceiling.)

              The second option was a dick move.  

              (She _is_ a woman, after all. They all had some semblance of gentlemanliness in them.)

              The last option was—well—a bit complicated knowing that no one (sans Nagito) was eager about cohabitating with a girl for the next month. After much debate (and a few unsolicited comments from Iori), they all decided to go with the classic fishbowl method, thinking this was the fair option. 

              “So, whose name did you pick out?”

              “It’s… Kota,” she said hesitantly. 

_Whoever said cats were lucky is an idiot_. 

II.

               For the most part, he had to admit that she wasn’t a terrible roommate. She pretty much minded her own business most of the time, and the room was usually left with the sounds of her shuffling around, or the clicks of Kota’s button mashing on his handheld.  

               Still, neither of them could completely ignore the awkward atmosphere. There was an invisible boundary that both of them never tried to cross under any circumstance. They would both remain on their side of the room, neither of them willing to go beyond the imaginary border that separated them.

               At first, Kota thought it was the perfect arrangement. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her in the first place, so this perpetual silence was ideal—

—but, to his surprise, he found himself growing more and more curious about his elusive roommate each passing day. 

               There were times when he wanted to cross the bridge, but his fear of interaction always stopped him from taking the first step. At times like these, he loathed his own shyness.

               When he finally gave up on trying, he concluded that their silence would be eternal.

                _This is how things are supposed to be anyway—_

“Oh, Kota! Are those Joe Watabe movies?” she exclaimed with a sparkle of excitement he rarely got to see.

               “You know him?” 

               “Yeah! I’m actually a big fan of his! I’ve watched almost every film he’s been on! I honestly think he’s a really talented actor, plus he’s so mature! And I also think that— ah, sorry, I’m rambling again…” 

               The quietness he was used to was now gone, but for some reason, he didn’t mind.

               “No, it’s fine… do you, uh, want to watch this movie with me?”

III.

               The border that once separated them seemed to have dissipated somewhat, if not completely. For the past week, they made it a tradition to watch Joe Watabe films at exactly 9pm every night, and gush about the movies afterwards. He was oddly pleased to have found something in common with her.

               It was a nice feeling, to forget all about Kota, member of Revance, and to just be himself on his couch watching his favorite movies with a fellow fan.

                _Maybe it isn’t so bad to have her here._

               “Ah, man. I wish I could write a plot that good. Heh, I really have a long way to go, don’t I?” she laughed self-deprecatingly, eyes downcast. 

               For a very brief, almost imaginary moment, Kota considered giving her a pat on the head. She gave herself too much flak for being Revance’s lyricist. Even now, as they sat on his couch watching movies, she still held onto her work persona. 

               While he did admire her dedication to work, something in him wished she could just be herself around him for a little while.

                _After all—_

               “—I think you’re good at what you do. And… I’m sure you’ll be able to make a better plot than that one day,” he told her, not registering the pink that began to tint his cheeks.

               She could only stare at him wordlessly before her own cheeks began to turn pink.            

               “…thank you,” was all she could say in return.

               She sat there smiling, dressed in a plain pink shirt and a simple pair of shorts, but she looked— _god forbid_ he say it out loud— _cute_. 

_Oh god, this isn’t good for me._

IV.

               Kota Igarashi was _not_ jealous.

               At least, that was what he told himself when he saw her animatedly chatting with Nagito in the living room during breakfast. She didn’t have the inhibition she normally had, and this was the first time he saw her genuinely lively since she came to bunk in with Kota.

               There was an unpleasant feeling pooling in his chest, but Kota forced himself to keep it at bay. He shouldn’t have any reason for feeling this way; it wasn’t his place to feel bad just because she wasn’t giving her full attention to him—

               — but at the same time, he couldn’t stop himself from sulking like a little boy who didn’t win a prize at the arcade.

               “Kota, you’re spilling the damn tea!” Kyohei scolded. 

               The green-clad pop star had been too absorbed in his self-rationalization that he failed to notice the tea was overflowing onto Kyohei’s hand. Roused from his stupor, he stopped pouring the hot drink and cleaned up the mess.

               “Hey, what the hell is up with you today?” Kyohei gruffly questioned him, irritated that he had scalded his hand in the ordeal.

                _I wish I knew._

V.

               One day, while the rest of the band members were out on business, Kota chose to spend his free day lounging about at home. Laziness was a luxury in the showbiz world, so he chose to relish all the free time he had by sprawling on his couch like a cat.

               She also chose to stay home, but unlike him, she immersed herself into a writing frenzy. Next to her was a pile of crumpled papers that showed her normally unseen, but ruthless perfectionism when it came to her profession. 

               He had to admit—he liked seeing her so devoted to her dream, and it motivated him to strive as well. But lately, he also started to notice things he didn’t notice before. He took note of her slender figure that leaned on him during movie night, her long, nimble fingers that held her pen when writing lyrics, and her subtle, but soothing scent that relaxed him after a long day of work.

               In fact, he was tempted to twirl a bit of her hair with his fingers, and just as he was about to reach out—

               “Ah, the power went out! Guess we’d better go look for the generator,” she idly stated in the blackness of his room.

               Kota froze. Suddenly, the darkness around him began to feel suffocating, and his lack of vision only caused him to fall into a deeper state of panic.  His breaths became shallow, his palms grew sweaty, and he could only think about the swirling obscurity around him.

                _Where are you? Where are you? Where are you? I can’t see—_

               “Kota? Are you okay?” she worriedly asked him. Her hand found its way to his own, and she stroked it reassuringly, as if to remind him that there were no monsters in the dark.

               “…don’t leave me, please,” he sobbed with a voice too small and atypically timid. He gripped her hand tighter, trying to wordlessly tell her all his fears. 

               He couldn’t see her expression in the dark, but he could feel the comforting grip of her hand tighten its hold, and that was all he needed.

They stayed like that for the rest of the night, with him holding onto her hand while he propped against her petite frame. In an attempt to distract him from his distress, she settled on trying to make him laugh.

               “Hey, Kota?”

               “…what?”

“What do you call a group of unorganized cats?”

               “I dunno.”

               “A cat-astrophe! Get it? Pretty funny, if I do say so myself.”

               “…”

               The joke was so painfully bad that Kota actually had to stifle a laugh at how terrible it was. At that moment, he could feel a growing fondness for her.  This time, he didn’t try to deny it anymore.

              For the first time in a long time, being in the dark wasn’t so dreadful.

VI.

               She was trembling, and he had no idea what to do.

               He woke up with a start when he heard her whimpering. She was still asleep, only, she was having a nightmare, and from the looks of it, a particularly frightening one.

               She tossed and turned restlessly in her bed, and while he really wanted to ease her from her suffering, he didn’t know where to start. For about five minutes, he hovered awkwardly near her bed, trying to figure out how to help her.

               “Nngh… I’m sorry… please…” she cried in her sleep, hugging her pillow fiercely. 

                _You helped me back then, so it’s my turn now._

               Kota retrieved the stuffed cat from his own bed and replaced her pillow with the plush toy. It was a bit childish of him, but maybe the cat could ward off her nightmare in his place. As much as he wanted to be the one beside her, she would probably misinterpret the situation come morning. For now, the cat plush would be the one to comfort her.

               The next day, she woke up to find a stuffed cat snuggled in her arms. The plush toy had a distinct aroma, and she immediately knew who it belonged to.

               “So, uh, did you sleep well?” he bashfully inquired. He was tomato-red in the face, and she couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

               “Yeah, I did. Thanks to you,” she beamed back at him. __

“What are you talking about? You’re probably just imagining things, space alien,” he sharply replied, his face tomato-red.  She couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

               Of course, they both knew who had given her the stuffed cat, but with Kota being Kota, he was too shy to admit it. Fortunately, she could see through it.

               “Whatever you say,” she gave him a knowing smile.

VII.

               The room felt empty now.

               The leak in her bedroom was fixed, and it was now time for her to move back. She had already cleared her side of the room. The only trace of her that remained was her lingering scent.

               It was— _not that he’d ever admit it out loud_ —inexplicably lonely to lose his one and only roommate after a month. He had already gotten used her vibrant presence, with her things scattered about and her crumpled song lyrics lumped together in a messy pile.

               That was all gone now.

               He had to suppress the growing temptation to bring her back. Clearly, there wasn’t any real need for her to stay anymore, but Kota couldn’t help but think otherwise. Nevertheless, he couldn’t risk the other guys’ questioning.  They were too sharp for their own good, and he didn’t want to imagine what would happen if he got found out. 

               Even if he didn’t like it, things had to go back to the status quo. Besides, he had no idea how she felt about him. They were definitely more than friends, but not exactly lovers. To him, they were both stuck in that weird gray zone between more-than-friends and almost-lovers.

_Oh well._

                _Knock-knock._ The knock shook him out of his trance. It was 1am, and whoever was knocking better have a good reason for doing so.

               “Yeah, come in,” he quickly spat.

               He tried to hide his feelings with a poker face, but he couldn’t hold back a small grin when he saw her enter the room.

               “Did you leave anything?” he said with feigned disinterest.

               “Well, no, but…” she seemed fairly nervous.

               Kota knew it was irrational, but he held on to a small thread of hope. Maybe, just maybe, she felt the same way. 

               “…I couldn’t sleep. So, um, I was wondering if I could stay here for a while…” she looked to the side shyly.

               “Mm, sure, I guess.” His stoic face belied the utter joy he was feeling at the moment.

_I must be so far gone if I’m this happy about her sleeping here…_

               “Well, since you don’t have a bed here anymore, you can sleep on my bed. I’ll take the couch,” he told her.

               “N-no! Um, I mean, you don’t have to take the couch. If you’re okay with it, we can sleep next to each other—only if you want to!” she hastily replied, fidgeting with the hem of shirt.

                _Did she really just tell me that?_

_…does she know how long I’ve been waiting to hear that?_

              “Oh, uh, alright then,” he blushed to the roots of his hair. 

              He stiffly motioned for her to get in the bed, and he climbed in soon afterwards. He was hyper-aware of her soft, feminine figure right next to him, but he remained ramrod still with his back facing her.

              In a move he’d never expect in a million years, she wrapped an arm around him. The sensation was foreign, but most definitely _not_ unwelcome. His brain was telling him to respectfully move away from her, but something else in him said to relish in the feeling. 

               “Hey, Kota.”

               “…yeah?”

               “You’re better than the cat plushie.”

              In that one instant, Kota thought cats were the luckiest animals in the world.


End file.
